The best one-liners, zingers, wisecracks and quotes from the presidential debate

(FILES)This combination of file pictures shows US President Barack Obama (L) speaking during a campaign event at Prime Osborn Convention Center July 19, 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida, and US Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (R) addressing the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington on October 8, 2011. With his historic presidency in peril, Barack Obama will shake off his lethargy with a “strong” and passionate” comeback on October 16, 2012 in his second debate with Mitt Romney, a top advisor said. Obama and Romney meet at Hofstra University, in New York, with the president under intense pressure after the Republican’s nimble first debate showing two weeks ago triggered a polling spurt which tightened the race into a dead heat. (AFP PHOTO/Mandel Ngan)(Nicholas Kamm-/AFP/Getty Images)

After President Barack Obama’s less than inspiring performance during the first presidential debate, Democrats were clamoring for blood Tuesday.

The first debate wasn’t exactly what Democrats were expecting. Mitt Romney stayed on his toes and delivered the now infamous Big Bird quote, sticking to offense and firing up his Republican supporters. Obama’s luke-warm comebacks, or lack thereof, left his supporters downtrodden.

But during the second presidential debate, conducted in town-hall style and moderated by CNN’s Candy Crowley, both Obama and Romney were on their A-game with fiery retorts and one-liners.

Here are some of the highlights from the debate, eyebrow-raising zingers and all.

1. Romney: ”You took General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually did.”

Romney has been haunted by his “let Detroit go bankrupt” comments for months. Tonight he took Obama’s campaign fodder and made it his own, although Obama was on his heels denying every word.

2. Obama: “We haven’t heard from the governor any specifics, beyond Big Bird and eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood, in terms of how he pays for that.”

Obama’s campaign has been hounding Romney on how he would cut taxes 20 percent without raising the deficit. Obama questioned Romney again, this time bringing up his opponent’s plan to cut off Big Bird that created a media firestorm. He added, “the math doesn’t add up,” a line borrowed from former President Bill Clinton’s fiery speech at the Democratic National Convention.

3. Romney: ”Let’s look at the president’s policies, all right, as opposed to the rhetoric, because we’ve had four years of policies being played out.”

Obama has the advantage, or disadvantage, of calling on his record as president. Romney questioned the president’s policies on oil production on federal land, bashing him for suing drillers because “20 or 25 birds were killed.” Was Big Bird one of them?

4. Obama: ”I don’t look at my pension. It’s not as big as yours, it doesn’t take as long.”

Romney asked the president three times if he’d looked at his pension. Looks like that blew up in the face of the man under fire for calling 47 percent of the population moochers.

5. Romney: ”This has not been Mr. Oil, or Mr. Gas, or Mr. Coal.”

Romney pulled another quip on Obama’s fuel policies. Obama repeated his preference to use more renewable energies, while Romney said he’d use more fossil fuels to boost the industry and lower gas prices.

6. Obama: ”When I hear Governor Romney say he’s a big coal guy — and keep in mind when — Governor, when you were governor of Massachusetts, you stood in front of a coal plant and pointed at it and said, ‘This plant kills,’ and took great pride in shutting it down. And now suddenly you’re a big champion of coal.”

Obama called Romney out on the spot. The nice-guy tactics went out the window this round.

7. Romney: “The reason I want middle-income taxpayers to have lower taxes is because middle-income taxpayers have been buried over the past four years.”

Vice President Joe Biden survived the vice presidential debate without any major gaffes, but his words came back to bite Obama in his second duel with Romney. The Republican candidate cited Biden’s comment that “the middle class has been buried” the past four years, implying Obama’s economic policies have hurt middle-income Americans.

8. Obama: “Can you say that a little louder, Candy?”

Romney fell flat when he tried to pin Obama for not recognizing the death Ambassador Chris Stevens and other Americans in Benghazi a terrorist attack until five days later. But Romney got a slap in the face when Crowley fact checked him and set the record straight.

9. Both candidates: “Lorraina? Lorraine?” “Lorena?”

Both candidates repeatedly asked audience member Lorraine Osario how to pronounce her name. Is Lorraine really that hard?